Hot oil strainer



June 24, 1941. w ns -T 2,247,040

' HOT OIL STRAINER Filed June 22, 1959 4 INVENTOR. HENRY WHIT6ET'T' ATTORNEY.

Patented June 24, 1941 UNETED STATES PATENT OFFICE nor on. s'mA-rNER I Henry Whitse'tt, Philadelphia, Pa. I ApplicationJunezz, 1939, Serial No. 280,637 I 2' Claims. (01; 216-155) This invention relates to hot oil" strainers and has for one of its objects to provide a multiple of strainers by means of which hot oils or fats, such as are used in cooking and deepfat frying,

may be thoroughly strained at a singleoperation to remove all foreign particles therefrom.

Another object of the invention is to provide a strainer so constructed that the several parts thereof may be readily disassembled so as to permit of them being'thoroughly cleaned after the hot oil has been strained.

Still another objectis to'provid'e the strainers in combination with a storage container whichis adapted to be kept on a hot stove to retain cooking oils or fats strained in liquid condition for use'as desired. I a

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear and the novel features thereof will be specically definedby the appended claims.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which like reference characters refer to like parts and'inwhich:

' Figure l is a View invertical section through the hot oil strainer; v I

Figure 2 is a plan View of the upper strainer;

and

Figure 31s a plan View of the lower strainer.

It is well known in the art of cooking to use a method known as deep fat frying in which the article of food to be so cooked is immersed for the required interval in a quantity of very hot fat or oil, the fat or oil being derived either from a vegetable or animal source and being usually hard at normal room temperatures. In this process of cooking, Particles of food often remain in the hot fat after the article of food is removed therefrom and it is an object of this invention to provide a hot fat or oil strainer to remove such particles of food, and to store the hot oil.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing wherein is illustrated a preferred construction of the device constructed in accordance with and embodying the principles of the present invention, it will be observed that this device generally includes a main body formed of a suitable material, preferably metal and of generally cylindrical form, the top and bottom ends of this main body being each open as appears most clearly in Figure l. The upper end of the body it] is provided with an outwardly projecting annular flange H which terminates in a vertically extending flange l2. A top cover or lid I3, preferably equipped with a bail type handle I4, is provided for closing the top of the body In, this cover being providedwith an: annularflange" l5 which snugly'fits overan'd embraces theupstanding' flange l2 Of themain body.

Disposed interior ly of the bod HI and permanently secured thereto,-as at I6, is a c'o'n'ically shaped receptacle I1 for receiving the strained oil As appears ih-Fig-u'te 1 this receptacle is disposed with its reduced e'rid projecting? down- Wardly; the bottom extremity of thereceptacle being provided an opening l8 Within'wlii'ch is fitt'e'd one end of an oil conduit l9' which is designed to'convey the strained hot oil out of the receptacle [1 through a manually o erated valve 2M0" a discharge spout 21-. As clearly'appearsin Figure 1-,-tl'i'e 'conduit 19* extends downwardly from t ereceptacle: I and thence laterally thro't' a s'idelwall dfthe main body Ii], theco'ndui-t'be g rigidly securedto" the side wall H) in any-'- suitablemanner, as by the fitting H.- The conduit Ill-thus serves" not' onlyto convey the strained hot oil from the receptacle l1 tethespout 21- but also serves as an element for rigidly supporting trie 'receptacle I1 itsse'curedposrtio'n witnintn'e inarnbody In:

By'means of the valve 20; which is equipped with n; conventional eperating nandie 2-2, the flow oftnehet oil 0 t of 'tne receptacle llmay be regulated' as desired and byclosing' 'th Valve the strained hot oil received within the receptacle may be stored therein until such time as it is needed. It is to be noted that the bottom of the main body It) is open so that when the device is placed on top of a hot stove the interior of the main body It] may be subjected to heat so as to maintain the oil which is stored in the receptacle l1 and within the conduit IS in liquid condition.

Disposed within the top of the main body I0 are a pair of strainers each of generally conical form and arranged in vertically spaced relation one with respect to the other. The uppermost strainer 23 is formed of relatively coarse gauge wire screening, the upper edge of this strainer being provided with a flat annular supporting ring 24 which is provided, preferably at diametrically opposed points a pair of lifting handles 2525. The lowermost strainer 26 is formed of relatively fine gauge metal screening and is provided at its upper edge with an upstanding annular collar 21 terminating in a radially extending flange 23, this flange serving as an annular support for the fine gauge strainer 26. As in the case of the coarse gauge strainer, the annular flange 28 is provided at diametrically' opposed points with a pair of lifting handles 2929.

As clearly appears in Figure 1, the final gauge strainer 26 is so disposed within the top of the main body I!) that the upper marginal edge of the strainer proper lies in a plane spaced below the plane of the annular flange H of the main body, this disposition of the strainer 26 within the body 10 being obtained by means of the annular flange 21 which fits concentrically within the top of the main body In and serves to suspend the strainer 26 within said main body.

The coarse gauge strainer 23 is disposed with its annular supporting ring 24 resting directly upon the flange 28 of the lowermost fine gauge strainer 26, the relative diameters of the members 24 and 28 being such as to readily permit the strainers 23 and 26 to be disposed inthe nested relation shown with the former spaced vertically above the latter. l

The conical shape of the strainers 23 and 2 5 provide for the strained particles of food 'accumulating at the pointed lower ends of the strainers, thus maintaining at all times an active straining surface upon which the hot'oil may be poured and through which it may be strained of all foreign particles. The conical shape of the strainers of the receptacle I! also adapt theseparts to be assembled in the nested relationship shown, thereby providing for a compactness while retaining the advantage of the larger area of surface of a cone for the'strainers. In other words, the conically shaped strainers provide a larger area of straining surface than would a fiat strainer and permitting them to be so nested as to require a minimum of accommodating space therefor. The uppermost coarse gauge strainer 23 serves to remove the larger particles of food and the like while permitting the more minute particles to pass therethrough, whereas the lowermost fine gauge strainer 26 serves to prevent the passage into thereceptacle vention is susceptible of various changes and modifications which may be made from time to time without departing from the real spirit or general principles thereof and it is, accordingly, intended to claim the invention broadly, as well as specifically, as indicated in the appended claims. 1

I claim:

1. A hot oil strainer of the class described comprising an open-ended cylindrical member having along its upper edge an annular horizontal flange terminating in an upwardly extending vertical flange to provide an annular seat interiorly of said member, an oil receiving pan secured interiorly of said member intermediate the top and bottom ends thereof; said pan being of, inverted conical shape having an oil discharging opening at the apex of the invertedcone, a tube connected to said opening and extending transversely through the wall of said member at a point below said pan, an oil drawoff faucet secured to the outer end of said tube, and a pair of strainers detachably supported within said member above said pan, the bodies of said strainers being each of inverted conical shape and having flat annular flanges surrounding the upper edges thereof for supporting the same upon said annular seat, said strainers being respectively of such shape and positionally so related that while the supporting flanges thereof are in flatwise engagement with each other when resting on said seat the strainer bodies are substantially separated vertically from each other and from the conical oil receiving pan.

2. Ahot oil 1 strainer as defined in claim 1 wherein said strainer bodies are formed of wire screening and wherein the guage of the uppermost strainer body is relatively coarse as compared with the guage of the lowermost strainer body.

3. A, hot oil strainer as defined in claim 1 wherein said cylindrical member is provided with a removable cover for closing the upper end thereof and wherein said strainers are each provided with means for facilitating their removal from within said member.

HENRY WHITSE'I'I. 

